Mairla Greatforge
The only daughter of Thane Zulatobari Greatforge, adoptive daughter of the Silverhearth's, and paladin dedicated to Tyr like her mentor, father figure, and savior, Dormir Oathmir. With an expertise in jewelcrafting and an eye for the value of said crystals to boot! Characteristics She fights for what is right, upholding her duties with honor, kindness, and balances her role as heiress of her clan and paladin of the silver hand to bring justice and peace in her wake. Physical Appearance Her long fiery hair is generally braided into a long tail, sometimes it's bundled up and sitting in a bun of sorts, her tanned skin bears the marks of constant battles but she has surprisingly few scars... The benefit of possessing healing powers in the form of the Light. Her eyes seemingly burn with passion, passion for what she believes in, and at other times its warming and welcoming, and sometimes you swear you see a glimmer of golden light flickering in them. But in general Mairla is determined and it shows in her orange-brown eyes! Personal Effects Her full plate armor, minus a helmet, is entirely forged by her fathers hand and is made out of an mithril-thorium alloy to combine high durability with a reasonable weight for the armor. However, obtaining his brother Kalrum's aid, the armor was enchanted with your typical runes to increase the effectiveness of the armor and reduce it's overall weight to allow Mairla greater freedom of movement in it. There are designs of the Greatforge Clan inlaid in truegold. She only has one heavy shoulderpad, and it is on her LEFT arm, in addition, her left arm has more armor adorning it as well, a sort of makeshift shield while keeping both hands free to wield Honorguard. Honorguard is her weapon of choice, it's a massive two handed warhammer, crafted in honor of Tyr's own weapon, 'The Silver Hand', and shares many artistic details with the hammer including the symbol of Tyr's silver hand in the center on both sides. The hammer was specifically created by the vrykul prior to their devolution (or maybe evolution?) into humans. It was forged for the leader of the Tyr's Guard of the time and when he died, his home was turned into a tomb and was filled with traps to determine worth. The reward for one who proves worthy being his hammer, Honorguard. The hammer itself is forged out of titansteel, and to those who are not worthy it is nearly impossible to lift, but to Mairla it weighs about as much as a maul forged of mithril would. Along with this, the hammer is sentient, containing the guiding spirit of the Vrykul who once wielded Honorguard along with fractions of the wisdom of all the wielders after the first. Her prayerbook is firmly attached to her belt and was once owned by Dormir Oathmir, her mentor and primary father figure. Between it's metallic covers, adorned with Tyr's Silver Hand, are a wide array of old legends, tales, and scraps of knowledge pertaining to Keeper Tyr, the Tyr's Guard, and it has a map to the fortress-tomb of the vrykul who first wielded Honorguard. Of course there are also your normal prayers to the Light, Dormir became a paladin during the Second War as part of the original Silver Hand order. Hanging around her neck is Dolmir's Holy Amulet, a weighty silver hand made entirely out of truesilver that hangs by a rather thick mithril chain. It's worn, the metal having been smoothed and polished from use since the Second War. Finally, the crown of sorts Mairla wears was once her mothers, and a gift from her father to symbolize her nobility and high position within Clan Greatforge's structure, like the best crowns it's forged out of rare truegold and inlaid with runes of magical protection by Kalrum. She also has a Greatforge signet ring, but it's not magical. Personality Mairla is a fairly strong willed and stubborn individual, shes not quite as thick skulled as her father or uncles, she has a clear idea of right from wrong, of good and evil, and cannot be argued with pertaining to those closely held beliefs. She holds the virtues of the Light, and the beliefs of the Tyr's Guard close to her heart and while for a time she was filled with doubt and depression, it has since been replaced by conviction to honor Tyr's sacrifice and defend Azeroth. And as with most dwarves, she holds honor, loyalty, and an unwillingness to back down from a fight, especially if it's a true fight over beliefs and not some bar-fight (although she's fought more then a few of those too!). History Born shortly before the Dark Portal opened to Zulatobari Greatforge, her father, and Fjorla Anvilforge, her mother. About three or so days prior to her birth, her family were going on a diplomatic trip to the Thandol Span and it's fortifications to discuss trade deals with the Anvilmar's who are the sworn defenders of the Span. However, during those talks, the Dark Iron's attacked forcing Zulatobari and most of his guard to remain behind to battle them alongside the Anvilmar's as his wife was forced to flee with a handful of their elite guards. A decision Zula regrets to this very day, as Fjorla would give birth on the road, and would begin fading without proper medical care. But before medical care could be found at Thelsamar, the closest dwarven town at that point in their journey to Ironforge, in their rush to get Lady Fjorla aid, blindly entered Trogg territory and were ambushed by them, and while they were fierce warriors, the handful of guards were overwhelmed and as the beasts were tearing apart the wagon Fjorla was on with young Mairla. However, it was then that the wandering Wildhammer warrior, Dormir Oathmir, came across the scene and managed to beat back the remaining Troggs but it was too late for Fjorla, and with her dying breath she muttered her daughters name, 'Mairla', but nothing else. Without time to find something regarding her father, Dolmir left with the baby as more Troggs began appearing. Dolmir, without a proper home in his self imposed exile and unable to care for a baby, left the child in Thelsamar where she would be put under the care of the Silverhearth family. There she was raised alongside their only daughter, Kalna Silverhearth who was several years Mairla's senior and one surrounded in ill rumors regarding her parentage. As the rumored Dark Iron supporter Kalrum was in town and had reportedly talked at length with Lady Silverhearth before leaving, and it so happened that based on when it was discovered she was pregnant with Kalna, it lined up with Kalrum's visit. However, these are entirely unfounded, Kalrum was in town for a different reason and was trying actually there regarding young Mairla. The Silverheath's were never told how he knew, and were instructed not to tell Mairla until it the time was right. Early Years From an early age Mairla proved a handful, she was naturally curious, adventurous, and competitive. She was constantly pushing her boundaries and even picking fights as she grew older, but when the Second War started, her adoptive family fled to Stromgarde as they were worried about Orc scouts in advance of the main army finding them. By the time the Second War ended, the Silverhearths were one of the first families to return to Thelsamar where they rebuilt their own home and were visited by Dormir Oathmir. His time was almost upon him, he had only years left after a warlock drained the very life from it, aging him considerable. With the last of his strength he passed on his knowledge and trained Mairla after she demanded it of him after discovering not only her adoption, but of his role in it. During the course of that training, she grew extremely close to Dormir, viewing him as a father figure, ironic as Dormir was technically the younger brother of her grandfather, Orik Greatforge. Dolmir's Death Upon his deathbed, Dormir revealed he came back years after saving Mairla to the trogg den that took her mother along with a small band of local warriors. After clearing it of the savages, he discovered a pendant with the emblem of Clan Greatforge upon it, and inside was an artistic portrait of both Zulatobari and Fjorla, recognizing her, he kept it close until the day he could give it back to Mairla, and so he did. Along with a set of chainmail armor, a small sack of gold, his holy symbol, his libram, and a rather simple hammer. Dormir was buried in his armor, but his hammer, Honorguard, was no where to be found. Family Reunion After a short period of mourning, Mairla traveled to Ironforge where she matched the symbol of the locket to a rather large clanhouse, it belonged to the Greatforge family and after gaining entry, she met her father for the first time. He was a depressed mess of a dwarf, even decades after the apparent deaths of his wife and child, and it took a great deal of discussion to bring Zula around to the idea that his daughter may have survived after all this time, and by returning the locket he believed her. It did help that Mairla looked nearly identical to his wife but with his eyes. Making up for lost time, the two were nearly inseparable for months, afterwards when Mairla brought up wishes to explore the world, locate her mentors hammer in Tirisfal, and to continue Dormir's quest to find Tyr, it was met with a nearly instant 'No'. But, after some time, Zula finally relented and forged for his daughter the suit of armor she wears now, along with an hammer befitting his daughter, a hammer she brought back and no longer uses after she obtained Honorguard. Honorguard Her first adventure was a journey north to Tirisfal, prior to the Third War, she journeyed up into a secluded valley that gave her creepy vibes until she came across the nearly hidden entrance to the tomb she was looking for. After gaining entrance by placing her left hand into the slight depression of a hand, she underwent the trials and tests before earning the hammer as Dormir did before her. A Fall to Darkness & Redemption She went on similar adventures and other travels through the years, returning only during the Third War and the later war against Arthas in Northrend to join her kin in battle. This of course changed during the events of Warlord's of Draenor and Legion where she would join the Steelgrasp Brigade and fight for Khaz Modan until she learned of Tyr's demise. For the longest time she had been hunting the missing Keeper as did her mentor, and had began idolizing him and his ideals, his death shocked her to her core and placed doubt in her actions and her faith, this combined with an expedition gone wrong into a heavily corrupted ruins of the Old Gods, led Mairla to allow herself to be captured and twisted into a servant of darkness. She was like this for months until her father and uncle, Kalrum, finally got onto her trail and with the aid of others, freed Mairla from this corruption. A task finalized by Kalrum's and Fjrorum Greatforge's (her aunt's) efforts, although Zula was beaten and battered and nearly slain twice during the affair, he stayed true and loyal to his daughter and if not for that, she may have remained lost. After being cleansed of the taint, she found new purpose in upholding the ideals and causes Tyr fought for. So while her quest to find the Keeper was over, a new quest to protect Azeroth arose in it's place. And with it, she banished all doubt from her heart and fortified her faith! External Links Wyrmrest Wiki Page Category:Character Category:Clan Greatforge